One Thing at a Time
| One Thing at a Time | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 3, 2023 | |||
| Genre | Country pop | |||
| Length | 111:36 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Morgan Wallen chronology | ||||
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| Singles from One Thing at a Time | ||||
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One Thing at a Time is the third studio album by American country music singer Morgan Wallen, released on March 3, 2023, through Big Loud Records.[1] It features 36 tracks, including the singles "You Proof", "Thought You Should Know", "Last Night", the title track, "Everything I Love", "Thinkin' Bout Me", "Man Made a Bar", "Cowgirls" and the promotional single "Don't Think Jesus", as well as collaborations with Eric Church, Hardy and Ernest. A sampler containing three tracks from the album—"One Thing at a Time", "Days That End in Why" and "Tennessee Fan"—preceded the album in December 2022.[2] The announcement of the album came alongside the release of three more tracks—"Everything I Love", "I Wrote the Book", and "Last Night"—which became his first Billboard Hot 100 number one, staying atop for 16 weeks.[3]
The album received mixed reviews from critics, but debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 501,000 album-equivalent units, marking the biggest week for a country album by units since 2021. With 19 weeks at number one, it is the longest-running number one country album of all time on the chart. Wallen embarked on the One Night at a Time Tour in support of the album in April 2023.[1]
Background
[edit]In a statement released January 30, Wallen explained that the album "brings together the musical influences that have shaped [him] as an artist – country, alternative and hip-hop" and the album ended up with 36 songs "because [they] just kept exploring with fresh lyrics, music and production ideas and these are the songs that felt right" to him.[4] Billboard described the album as "genre-blending".[5]
The cover photograph was taken at Wallen's grandfather's home in Sneedville, Tennessee.[5]
Critical reception
[edit]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 47/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [7] |
| Pitchfork | 4.1/10[8] |
| Slant Magazine | [9] |
| Holler | 8.5/10[10] |
One Thing at a Time received mixed reviews from critics, with a score of 47 out of 100 based on six critics' reviews at review aggregator Metacritic.[6] Paul Attard of Slant Magazine found One Thing at a Time to be "wildly uneven" with "little here that could be considered fresh by Wallen's standards", as "his music is typically concerned with one of three things: getting shitfaced, being lovesick, or Jesus" while still having several "production flourishes" that see Wallen "experimenting, if ever so slightly, with his sound".[9]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the album's "untrammeled sprawl [of 36 tracks] means [it] offers a little something for everybody", with "party songs, sad songs, songs that lift liberally from classic rock standards" as well as "songs about beer, songs about whiskey, and songs about wine".[7] Sam Sodomsky of Pitchfork criticized the length, apparent ethos of "Wallen being true to only himself" while having 49 co-writers, and the tracks "covering the same thematic territory", although acknowledging there are occasional "minimalist rhythms" that "accentuate his gift for delivering tugging, bittersweet pop melodies" as well as "couplets clever enough to catch you off guard". Sodomsky felt that the title "seems to acknowledge that Wallen considers this a transitional moment" and concluded that "none of this leads to anything interesting enough to change how you think of Morgan Wallen".[8]
In contrast, Maxim Mower of Holler praised the album as evidence of Wallen's artistic evolution since Dangerous, writing "with One Thing at a Time, Wallen has crafted an album that is more lyrically intricate, emotionally mature and sonically fulfilling than his record-breaking, standard-setting opus".[11]
Commercial performance
[edit]One Thing at a Time debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 dated March 18, 2023, with 501,000 album-equivalent units, including 111,500 pure album sales. It is Wallen's second consecutive US number-one album and marks the biggest week of 2023 for album units earned, and overall biggest week for a country album since Red (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift in November 2021. Its 36 tracks earned a total of 498.28 million on-demand streams. The album has spent 19 weeks at number-one on the chart,[12] surpassing Bad Bunny's Un Verano Sin Ti as the album with the most number one weeks this decade, as well as becoming to longest-running number one country album of all time.[13]
In the week of the album's release, all 36 tracks entered the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record set by Drake in 2018 for most songs by an artist on the chart at one time, as well as the record for most debuts on the chart, with 27.[14] Wallen also occupied five of the top 10 songs and achieved his first number-one song with "Last Night".[15] The album was named the number one album for 2023 in Billboard's year-end album chart, making Wallen the first country artist to capture both the year-end number one positions for album and single in the same year.
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Born with a Beer in My Hand" |
| 3:07 |
| 2. | "Last Night" | 2:43 | |
| 3. | "Everything I Love" |
| 3:05 |
| 4. | "Man Made a Bar" (featuring Eric Church) |
| 3:09 |
| 5. | "Devil Don't Know" |
| 3:24 |
| 6. | "One Thing at a Time" |
| 3:26 |
| 7. | "'98 Braves" |
| 2:58 |
| 8. | "Ain't That Some" |
| 2:37 |
| 9. | "I Wrote the Book" |
| 3:00 |
| 10. | "Tennessee Numbers" |
| 3:45 |
| 11. | "Hope That's True" |
| 3:05 |
| 12. | "Whiskey Friends" |
| 3:24 |
| 13. | "Sunrise" |
| 3:01 |
| 14. | "Keith Whitley" |
| 3:07 |
| 15. | "In the Bible" (featuring Hardy) |
| 3:14 |
| 16. | "You Proof" |
| 2:36 |
| 17. | "Thought You Should Know" | 3:34 | |
| 18. | "F150-50" |
| 3:10 |
| 19. | "Neon Star (Country Boy Lullaby)" |
| 2:51 |
| 20. | "I Deserve a Drink" |
| 3:24 |
| 21. | "Wine into Water" |
| 3:43 |
| 22. | "Me + All Your Reasons" |
| 2:53 |
| 23. | "Tennessee Fan" |
| 3:18 |
| 24. | "Money on Me" |
| 2:55 |
| 25. | "Thinkin' Bout Me" |
| 2:57 |
| 26. | "Single Than She Was" |
| 2:40 |
| 27. | "Days That End in Why" |
| 2:41 |
| 28. | "Last Drive Down Main" |
| 3:13 |
| 29. | "Me to Me" |
| 2:18 |
| 30. | "Don't Think Jesus" |
| 3:44 |
| 31. | "180 (Lifestyle)" |
| 3:07 |
| 32. | "Had It" |
| 3:18 |
| 33. | "Cowgirls" (featuring Ernest) |
| 3:01 |
| 34. | "Good Girl Gone Missin'" |
| 2:54 |
| 35. | "Outlook" |
| 3:13 |
| 36. | "Dying Man" |
| 3:02 |
| Total length: | 111:37 | ||
Notes
- "Everything I Love" features an interpolation from "Midnight Rider" by The Allman Brothers Band.[16]
- "180 (Lifestyle)" features an interpolation from "Lifestyle" by Rich Gang.[16]
Personnel
[edit]Musicians
- Morgan Wallen – vocals
- Bryan Sutton – acoustic guitar (tracks 1–15, 17–29, 31–34, 36), ukulele (2), mandolin (4, 7, 8, 14, 15, 20, 23, 28–30, 33, 36), banjo (8), Dobro (11), bouzouki (36)
- Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass guitar (1, 3–5, 7–15, 17–24, 26–33, 35, 36)
- Jerry Roe – drums (1, 3–8, 10–12, 14–24, 26–32, 34–36), percussion (1–7, 9, 11, 15, 17–19, 23–25, 27, 28, 30, 32, 34–36)
- Tom Bukovac – electric guitar
- Derek Wells – electric guitar (1, 3, 11)
- Dave Cohen – keyboards (all tracks), Hammond B3 organ (17, 30, 35)
- Zach Abend – programming (1)
- Charlie Handsome – programming (2, 16, 25, 31, 34), electric guitar (3, 25)
- Wes Hightower – background vocals (3, 14, 15, 28, 33)
- Dan Dugmore – steel guitar (4, 10, 14, 20, 36)
- Eric Church – vocals (4)
- Todd Lombardo – acoustic guitar (5, 16, 27, 30, 35), mandolin (17, 30)
- Paul Franklin – steel guitar (5, 7, 17, 30, 32)
- Mark Hill – bass guitar (6)
- Jacob Durrett – programming (8, 9, 13, 19, 31, 33)
- Cameron Montgomery – programming (9)
- Hardy – vocals (15)
- Ben Stennis – programming (18)
- Dominic Frost – electric guitar (23, 29)
- Ernest – vocals (33)
- James Maddocks – programming (34)
- Ashlyne Wallen – background vocals (35)
Technical
- Joey Moi – production, mixing
- Charlie Handsome – co-production (2, 16, 25, 34)
- Jacob Durrett – co-production (9, 13, 19, 31, 33)
- Cameron Montgomery – co-production (9)
- Ted Jensen – mastering (1–5, 7–22, 24–26, 28–36)
- Justin Shturtz – mastering (6, 23, 27)
- Josh Ditty – engineering, editing (all tracks); co-mixing (3, 35)
- Elvind Mordland – editing (all tracks), co-mixing (1, 26)
- Ryan Yount – editing, engineering assistance
- Scott Cooke – editing
- Steve Cordray – engineering assistance (1, 14, 18, 20, 28)
- Joey Stanca – engineering assistance (2, 3, 8–10, 12, 21, 23, 26, 29, 33, 36)
- Sean Badum – engineering assistance (4, 5, 7, 13, 15–17, 19, 22, 25, 27, 30, 31, 35)
- Lucas Glenney-Tegtmeier – engineering assistance (6, 11)
- Ally Gecewicz – production coordination
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
|
Year-end charts[edit]
|
Certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[32] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[33] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[34] | 2× Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[35] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[36] | 7× Platinum | 3,500,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
[edit]- ^ a b Wendowski, Andrew (January 30, 2023). "Morgan Wallen Announces 36-Track Album 'One Thing At A Time' Featuring Duets With Eric Church, Hardy & Ernest". Music Mayhem Magazine. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "Breaking: Morgan Wallen Announces New Album, 'One Thing At A Time'". Country Now. January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ White, Logan (January 30, 2023). "Morgan Wallen announces new album + to share 3 new songs". Substream Magazine. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ Young, Casey (January 30, 2023). "Morgan Wallen Announces 36-Song, Third Studio Album 'One Thing At A Time'". Whiskey Riff. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ a b Bowenbank, Starr (January 30, 2023). "Morgan Wallen Announces 36-Track New Album 'One Thing at a Time'". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ a b "One Thing at a Time by Morgan Wallen Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ^ a b Sodomsky, Sam (March 3, 2023). "Morgan Wallen: One Thing at a Time Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ a b Attard, Paul (March 3, 2023). "Morgan Wallen One Thing at a Time Review: A Numbingly Protracted Bender of an Album". Slant Magazine. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ Mower, Maxim (March 3, 2023). "Morgan Wallen - One Thing at a Time". Holler. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ Mower, Maxim (March 3, 2023). "Morgan Wallen - One Thing at a Time". Holler. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (November 21, 2023). "Morgan Wallen's 'One Thing at a Time' Is Top Billboard 200 Album of 2023". Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (March 12, 2023). "Morgan Wallen's 'One Thing at a Time' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 With a Half-Million Units". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ^ Trust, Gary (March 13, 2023). "Morgan Wallen Charts Single-Week Record 36 Songs on Hot 100 – Every Track From 'One Thing at a Time'". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ Trust, Gary (March 13, 2023). "Morgan Wallen Notches First Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 With 'Last Night'". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ a b "Morgan Wallen's Third Album: One Thing at a Time Out March 3". Morgan Wallen. January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- ^ "ARIA Top 40 Country Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
- ^ "Album 2023 uke 10". VG-lista. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "Billboard Country Update: March 13, 2023" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums Chart for 2023". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ "Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ "Top Selling Albums of 2023". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on December 21, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
- ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums for week of 5 February 2024". Australian Recording Industry Association. February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time". Music Canada. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ "British album certifications – Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ "American album certifications – Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 9, 2024.